Chapter 50: The Blossoming Princess

Disclaimer:

First of all – sorry! I know it has been almost a month since the last update but that was because of my final assignment for university. It was a big project and I needed to do it well so that was why I, and this story, was absent. However, now that it's over and done with, you can now expect more frequent uploads!

Second of all – thanks for over 200 reviews on this story! I didn't even notice at first and then it hit me once I checked through. I appreciate all of the feedback and when I see people enjoying the fic that I'm writing, it makes me more motivated to write! The reviews have been positive/negative/critical and all of that is fine since it's your guys' opinions. It will only help me be better in the future! So, again, thank you.

With that all said, I hope you enjoy Chapter 50!


The horrid stench of the Druid amalgamation filled the air of the soft, green-coloured field. The vines that were dangling down around the ceiling were swaying as the monster's putrid stench swirled around the room.

Mimosa and Sallyanne were anxiously waiting for what might come next as they looked up in fear. The two Druids had combined into one creature because of the fungi that had spread around their bodies. However, this posed one question to them – Was it the Magic Stone that did this?

"Sallyanne… I want to save these Druids. I mean, they're your friends, right?" Mimosa spoke quickly, trying not to lose her line of sight with the creature.

"Mimosa… I told you it's hopeless. Just look at what they've become…", Sallyanne replied, clutching her two small, sharp weapons. "Even with my own Plant Magic and these two kunai, I don't think I can do anything other than kill them".

As the two exchanged differing points of view, the creature raised its long, thick arm that was made out of big, green vines intertwined with each other, and slowly slammed it down onto the floor where the two girls were standing.

As it hit the floor, the room shook and more of the hole, that Klaus and Letoile fell down, gave way. The hole crumbled further and got bigger which indicated that Mimosa and Sallyanne were on a time limit.

"If this thing repeats any of its strong attacks like that onto the floor, then we don't have much time left!" Mimosa dodged to the side to evade the falling debris from the ceiling.

"This is what I mean! If we combine our powers then we can take this thing out", the female Druid twirled her kunai to show she was ready.

"Sallyanne is really headstrong when it comes to fighting and she just won't listen! But… we are fighting for our lives against this unknown thing so perhaps she's right… but I'm a Magic Knight and whether it's a human or not, I want to save them!" Mimosa thought to herself as she clenched her fists.

"Look, I can't even help you with that since all I have is Recovery Magic and other support spells. I want to be able to be useful in battle, but… I just don't know how!" Mimosa shouted, gaining a perplexed look from her partner.

"I knew she had Plant Magic because of our ability to easily sense the innate magic of others, but I never knew it was this underdeveloped… Ah, I can't wait any longer and see if her plan works out. To win this we have to kill it!" Sallyanne decided to go in for the kill without Mimosa's help.

The red-haired Druid lunged forwards with her weapons in her hands. Her agility and strength easily made her come face to face with the creature as she dug her sharp tools in the enemy's head.

"Sorry, Mimosa… I thought there was more about you when it came to offensive capabilities and that was why I decided to join your group. I thought you would be better but I was mistaken. It's a real shame you're so… unrefined… so I'll just take care of this myself! Plant Magic: Floral Etching of Poison!"

As Sallyanne had stabbed her kunai into the creature's head, she had quickly drawn a pattern of a flower with four petals coming out from the centre circle. Each petal released a different kind of poison that each effected the enemy in a unique way. She drew so quickly that she didn't check that they were all drawn properly and just carried on.

From the initial stab, the enemy cried out in pain but there were two distinct voices that were merged together and overlapping. After this, the first poison started spreading from the left petal and it was a red colour signifying that this specific poison was just a damaging one.

"If I don't get involved, Sallyanne is going to kill that thing! I want to save it and I know there has to be a way to do so… Well, whatever… if I can't attack it with a spell, I can do everything else possible!" Mimosa thought to herself as she raised her head.

The royal saw the huge creature flailing its body around because of the damage it was taking and realised that if she wanted to save it, she needed to do something before the four poisons killed it.

"… Two time limits then?" Mimosa sighed and wiped the sweat from her forehead. "I need to make sure that thing doesn't attack like it did earlier, or else the floor will give way. And I need to hurry up and do something about Sallyanne's attacks…", she whispered to herself.

Meanwhile, as Mimosa was starting to plot her course of action, the creature jumped backwards and away from the Kunai-wielding Druid. It cried out in pain again as the continuous damage it was taking was a lot and so it let out dark-green tendrils from its body and attacked Sallyanne.

"This is bad! These tendrils are coming for me at a high speed and it's going to take a lot to just dodge!" Sallyanne shouted as she weaved in and out of the creature's attack.

It was ignoring Mimosa as she was not the one attacking and was going for the immediate threat which was the Druid. Sallyanne ran all around the room that was filled with broken and torn vines that had come from the creature, and the reason they were broken was either because of Sallyanne's weapons that she used to cut through, or because the creature was just attacking without any care for what would happen around it.

"It looks like I can just about dodge them, but… it's taking a lot out of me. This is why it would have been better to work with Mimosa to take it down but unfortunately our plan of actions differed from each other…!" Sallyanne was thinking to herself but, without realising, she stepped on a tendril that was on the floor, masking itself to be one of the fallen vines. "Damn it…!"

As soon as Sallyanne stepped on it, the Druid amalgamation whipped its vines violently and the Plant Magic user was quickly flung backwards and into the wall where the paintings and diagrams were of Valchronos and the past Druids.

"Sallyanne!" Mimosa shouted. She quickly ran to where the Druid was lying and saw that she had just about broken her fall by reinforcing the back of her body with thick plant petals that absorbed most of the blow and shock from the impact.

"I… I'm fine…! Just… let me attack this thing!" Sallyanne quickly got up, not noticing the cuts and wounds that had opened up on her body from which blood has started to drop from.

"No! I need to heal you up! Whatever our differences in opinions may be, if you're defeated then we both lose! Plant Recovery Magic: Princess-Healing Flower Robe! Thankfully, I have a bit of time because of the damage your spell is doing to the monster, so just bear with me for a second!" Mimosa formed her recovery dress around herself and began healing Sallyanne. "Hang on. Why does my magic feel stronger here…?"

"This girl is way too persistent. Even after I told her she was useless in attack, she finds a way to be useful?" Sallyanne thought to herself before her attention was diverted away from her and towards the enemy.

The enemy started to give off another loud scream, and, just as before, there were two distinct voices merged with each other. This scream was actually more like grunting as if the creature was finding it hard to deal with something. Upon looking at the top of its head, the next batch of poison has gone into effect.

"Is that… a tower of flowers weighing down the things head?" Mimosa commented, quite surprised at what she was looking at.

"You bet! It's uh… a bit of an odd one but it does help in battle. That was the second poison type where it spreads flowers. Plant Magic is amazing when it comes to creativity. You can think of what you want and if you spend time on your spell, it usually comes out right… or close enough", Sallyanne giggled.

Just before the royal Plant mage could respond, the creature fell to its knees from the weight of what was around 100 large flowers on top its head. However, as it fell it opened its mouth which was coated with sap and it looked like it had fangs which resembled the Carnivorous Fly Trap that had exploded a few minutes prior. From the open mouth, it unleashed a powerful blast of green energy that span and was going to hit both Mimosa and Sallyanne.

"It's heading straight for us… but the healing spell, its not done yet and even if we try to dodge, there's no place to move in time!" Mimosa panicked as her eyes started to glow an intense green colour from the energy blast that was coming for them.

Sallyanne got up and her grimoire flicked to a different page. She slammed her right hand down onto the floor and then brought it up again. "Plant Magic: Equal Undergrowth Transfer!" the Druid grabbed Mimosa's hand and the two became enveloped in a bright light as a large flower sprouted in front of them.

"What is…?" Mimosa asked. She looked around but all her yellow eyes could see was a bright, white light. However, through the few seconds she was in this light, she still felt the hold of Sallyanne's hand. Eventually, the light subsided and the room where they were fighting appeared again. However, it was slightly different from the royal's perspective.

Mimosa let go of her recovery spell as Sallyanne was healed up. She looked around quickly and saw that the two had been transported elsewhere.

"Wait, did we move from that plant to…", Mimosa began but the Druid finished her sentence off for her.

"… to the plants on top of the Druid? Yes, we did. It's my transport spell and this is the one I actually used to escape the Forgotten Forest when I went to visit the Forsaken Realm!" Sallyanne smiled.

Mimosa was about to respond but what Sallyanne said actually hit her and she started to panic. "Hang on… if we're standing on top of the creature… then we need to be careful!" She jumped in the air and stood beside the Druid, worried about what may happen.

"Don't worry. The 3rd poison is in effect and paralysed the creature's body. See?" Sallyanne pointed to where she casted the Floral Etching of Poison and showed that only one petal was remaining. She also pointed out how the enemy was not moving at all and was glowing a yellow colour signifying that it was in paralysis.

Mimosa saw the three petals had been used up but something about the fourth petal was bugging her. "The fourth petal… is it me or has it not been drawn as properly as the other three?" The Vermillion was about to bring it up with the Druid but then a thought crept into her head and she shook her initial thinking away.

Mimosa calmed down and she planted her footing down with ease. "You really are something, Sallyanne. I can't hold a torch to what you do… you'd actually be a better Magic Knight than me, haha…", she said with a hint of sadness.

Sallyanne didn't reply but instead she kept on listening.

"I… I guess we'll go with your plan. It's not like I have the power to defeat my enemies by myself. I'll keep being a support mage for the rest of my time as a Magic Knight…", the Vermillion continued. She tried to smile but it was very obvious that it was a fake one.

"Well, if that's all you think of yourself then I guess I really was wrong to follow you on this path…", Sallyanne walked forward and brought out her kunai for the last time. She saw that the paralysis was about to wear off and the last poisonous effect was about to start.

"That's right. A Magic Knight like me has no right being on a battlefield like this… Maybe all my yearning to be useful in an attacking sense was just foolish…", Mimosa stepped back. However, as she did, she stepped on one of the loose vine tendrils that was just recovering from the yellow paralysis. A few seconds after she stepped on it, it started to move and the creature was even more violent than before.

Sallyanne saw that the vines started to move and was waiting for the fourth poison to take effect. However, there wasn't enough time to wait as the creature attacked Sallyanne again and this time it was quicker. It whipped its vines around and attacked the Druid at the same time. One vine wrapped around her right leg, another with her left leg, and the other vines did the same with the remaining limbs.

"Wh-why?! My spell always works on enemies!" Sallyanne shouted but struggled to say anything else as the vines were pulling away at her limbs and trying to stretch her out to kill her. She had closed her eyes from the pain but she managed to open one of them ever so slightly and saw that the final petal she had drawn was not complete and that was why the fourth poison effect didn't work.

Mimosa looked up in horror as her partner for this mission was about to get killed in front of her and she had no means of attacking or saving her. "H-hang on…!" She ran to the centre of the creature's violently shaking head and knelt down.

"Perhaps this spell could work? Plant Magic: Magic Control Grass!" Mimosa lodged a small, green seed in the middle of the amalgamation's head and stood back for a moment but something was different about this spell than usual.

"This spell usually takes time for the seed to sprout, but here it sprouted immediately?" Mimosa saw her seed explode and hundreds of small vines started wrapping around the enemy's head. "Yes! I don't know why but my magic is stronger here! Hang on, Sallyanne!"

"Her magic is stronger here? What does that mean…?" Sallyanne thought to herself as she watched on. She couldn't do anything else as the vines had wrapped around her hands, forcing her to drop her two weapons.

"Okay, I'll control this thing and tell it to unhand you!" Mimosa wiped her sweat and tried to control the creature with her spell.

The two-Druid monstrosity started to stop moving but within seconds it had brushed away the seed's vines and got even angrier since it felt like something was holding it back. Although it turned its head to face Mimosa, the thing still focused on Sallyanne and put more of its vines on her body. It pulled the Druid back and then launched her at another wall at a very high speed.

"Sallyanne!" Mimosa shouted. She fell down from the top of the creature's head as it was moving too violently for her to stand on. The Plant mage looked at the other with whom she shared an attribute with and her eyes widened with fear.

Sallyanne had landed into the wall and it had started to crumble. Her grimoire stopped glowing and it fell onto her stomach which had a large, sharp piece of stone lodged into it. The Druid coughed up blood and couldn't move at all.

Though, even after this, the Druid-combined monster wasn't done and had begun to walk over towards the fallen Druid.

"Hey… That's enough…!" Mimosa shouted. She tried throwing more of her Magic Control Grass seeds on the enemy but they had no effect after sprouting just like before.

"Mimosa… get away from here…", Sallyanne lifted her hand weakly. "Maybe I should have listened to your… plan after… all". She started to laugh ever so slightly and clenched her fists as a form of regret.

"No! I can't just run away! The Druids already hate us humans and even if that wasn't the case… I can't just ignore an injured friend!" The yellow-eyed Magic Knight protested.

To Sallyanne it looked like a small flame had been ignited in her eyes and she was surprised. However, the thing she decided to focus on was what Mimosa had called her. "Friend? Ha… don't be stupid. I've called you unrefined and believed you were useless. Is that… what a friend would say?" She giggled as it seemed like it was most definitely the end.

Mimosa's face instantly turned a bright pink-red colour as she realised what she had just said. She held her hands up to her face to hide her eyes away but then shook her head. There were more important things to deal with right now. Though, as she was so preoccupied and focused on Sallyanne, she didn't realise her grimoire had started to glow slightly brighter.

Sallyanne's purple eyes widened but she didn't have the energy to argue. She simply smiled and waited for what was to come.

"I have to save her… I have to save that creature too! There are two Druids in there and if they ever learn that they killed a fellow Druid, then I don't know how they would live with themselves! Think, Mimosa… think!"

The mage from the Golden Dawn fell to her knees, desperate to claw back some hope in saving Sallyanne. Her palms scrunched up the bits of grass and fallen debris on the floor, showing a bit of frustration.

"This cannot be the story of my life… I'm always the one that never gets their hands dirty. Always the one that stands on the sidelines. Always the one that's protected by others!" She bit into her lip, drawing blood.

"I don't want to become like Lucas… like Yuno… like Asta, or Noelle… All I want is a platform where I can be strong by myself. Maybe that's asking too much, but that is what I want…!"

Mimosa, as if time had stopped, quickly thought back to the events prior that she could use to defeat this enemy. First, her thinking went to the fact that her magic was more powerful here than how she was normally. Secondly…

"That's it! Sallyanne said that simply picturing how you want your spell to be usually helps in creating it! I already have an idea on how I want my attacking spell to be since I had started to think about it before we even came here. I never had the confidence to finish it but when my back's up against the wall, I have no choice! Also, thank you… weird, green monster since you also used an attack that was similar!"

Mimosa stretched her arms in front of her and closed her eyes. "The shape I want my spell to take is… a plant! Nothing too difficult and it suits my attribute very well!" As she did this, her grimoire's pages flickered and started inscribing words rather quickly.

The Plant mage opened her eyes and summoned the spell that she had been working towards for the very first time.

"Plant Magic: Magic Flower Cannon!" From behind her, a group of vines and other plant materials swirled around each other and combined to create a large flower. It was pink its petals were closed with an opening in the middle where a bunch of mana was being concentrated. A few seconds went by, and the flower grew bigger rapidly.

At this point, the creature had sensed a strong mana signature coming from behind it and turned around. Now, its focus was on Mimosa and it started to charge at her.

"This works… in my favour! Now I don't have to go through the trouble of aiming since the target… is coming right for me!" Mimosa then waved her arm in a swift motion and the plant unleashed the insane amount of energy it had stored up, vaporising the creature, and destroying its outer body completely.

In a bright flash of green and yellow light, the Druid amalgamation had been destroyed and out popped two Druids that fell down and were unconscious. They rolled around from the speed in which they fell and were clearly injured, but they were alive and that was the most important thing. Their insides, that were previously infested with fungi, were free from infection, and their bodies in general had no trace of the organisms.

After summoning her first attack spell, Mimosa started to lose her footing as it took a lot out of her. Though, she knew she had to go to check on Sallyanne and the other two Druids that had just been released.

"S-Sallyanne…? Are you alright?" Mimosa asked, panting, and eventually kneeling on the floor.

The Plant mage's purple eyes widened another time as everything in the span of these last few minutes was nothing short of surprising. "M-Mimosa…! You… you used your first attack spell!" She tried to get up but was too tired and too injured to do anything of the sort.

"Haha, yeah, I guess I did", the Vermillion scratched her nose and sighed. "But… I doubt the power of that spell is going to be like that when I leave the Forgotten Forest…", she replied.

"It's because this place is soaked in natural mana all around. It's not a surprise that your nature-based magic got a huge boost in power. Tell me, what exactly did that spell do to save me… and those two?" The injured Druid asked and pointed at her comrades.

Mimosa thought back to the previous minute. "It's all a blur but what I kind of remember is that my spell shot a powerful beam out that destroyed their monstrous layer that had merged the two Druids together, and then it also healed them… I know that's a bit far-fetched to say, but perhaps that did happen?"

Sallyanne gasped and then cried in a bout of pain. She held her stomach and as the adrenaline had subsided, realised the stone piece was still stuck in there.

"Oh no…! Let me heal you… oh, and I'll do the same with those two Druids there!" Mimosa slowly stood up and pulled the unconscious Druids towards Sallyanne. "Plant Recovery Magic: Dream-Healing Flower Basket!"

The royal formed a basket filled with petals and a vine-like mantle that helped heal the three Druids' injuries. "I have plenty of experience with Recovery Magic so this should be…!" She began but knelt down in pain.

"Mimosa! It looks like you're injured as well! Take it easy and we'll go from there", Sallyanne responded.

"Haha, yeah, you're right", Mimosa smiled.

A few minutes went by and Sallyanne recovered enough to keep a conversation going and that is exactly what she did.

"So… like you said, I doubt that magic spell you did will be as powerful as now when you leave this area. Perhaps it'll just be an attack spell without the secondary ability to heal? Whatever the case is, if you keep training, you'll be able to use it without any problem in the future", the female Druid smiled.

"I guess you're right again", Mimosa replied. "Finally… I have something that makes me proud of who I am…! I can stop chasing after others and instead become something of my own", she thought.

"I… also owe you an apology", Sallyanne added.

"No, you don't", Mimosa protested.

"I do. Maybe I should have listened to you earlier in wanting to save those other two and perhaps this situation could have been avoided entirely. I called your magic unrefined but I was the one that had an unrefined way of thinking. I'm sorry, Mimosa". Sallyanne leaned forwards and held the Vermillion's hands as a way of showing sincerity.

"You're not the only one who has to apologise. I think I was being too obsessive with what I wanted and didn't think about being practical. We could have died and I stuck with my fantasies about saving everyone…", Mimosa frowned.

"Maybe it's a bad thought process to have, maybe it isn't. What I'm sure about is because you thought like that, my friends there were saved… I owe you so much, Mimosa", Sallyanne smiled.

"I owe you a lot too", Mimosa returned the gesture.

"After this is all done, I'm going to protest yours and your human friends' innocence and honesty! You guys will be the first humans in a long time to be accepted by us!" Sallyanne stood up and pumped her first in the air.

"Haha, I'd love to see that!" Mimosa smiled. Her spell was still going to heal the Druids but for now, they could relax.

"The only thing left is to find this… what did the humans call it – a Magic Stone? It may be the reason for the Druids going out of control, but maybe there's something… more?" Sallyanne thought to herself.


NOTES:

Mimosa has finally acquired the Magic Flower Canon attack spell! I think it was well earned if I do say so myself.

Just a heads up that this version of the spell is very powerful only because of the nature-soaked Magic Region that they're in/near. Her other versions will be less powerful but, just as Sallyanne said, if she trains then it'll be fine.

This chapter was kind of an apology to Mimosa in a way. I wrote her as kind of helpless previously and at times but that was on purpose. I believe that Mimosa wants to be strong and wants to help in more ways than simply as a support mage but struggles to do so. So, I purposely wrote her like this. So, for that, I gave her the big Chapter 50 as a redemption and respect for her. She is now a much stronger mage and person.

Some may be wondering where Lucas is and we'll get to him real soon.